Taking Interventions for a Spin: Examining the Effects of Students Test-Driving and Choosing Interventions on Behavioral Outcomes

Student involvement and choice have been found to increase students’ appropriate behaviors and their engagement in evidence-based interventions. The purpose of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of student test-driving and choice on the academically engaged behavior (AEB) and inappropriate behavior (IB) of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in an alternative school setting. The study used an alternating treatment phase that allowed students to test-drive three evidence-based interventions (i.e., Check-In/Check-Out (CICO), response cost (RC), and token economy (TE)) and was followed by a withdrawal design, where the students’ chosen intervention was implemented. Results indicated that students’ behavioral outcomes benefitted from the chosen intervention and that students and teachers enjoyed the test-driving and choice processes. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research exploring student test-driving and choice are discussed.